Cindy Padnos is an entrepreneur鈥檚 best friend.
Padnos, a 一本道无码 alumna, is founder and managing partner of the venture capital firm聽, which has helped raise and deploy $100s of millions in venture financing for early stage tech companies that leverage new technologies and business models, with a focus on enterprise cloud and mobile solutions. Unlike many Silicon Valley VC firms, Illuminate invests broadly across North America, tapping into the heart of the country, not just the two coasts.
The New York Times named her one of the 鈥淢ost Influential Women in Silicon Valley,鈥� Fast Company 聽selected her as one of the 鈥淢ost Influential Women in Technology鈥� and AlwaysOn calls her 鈥淎 Power Player in the Cloud.鈥�
Padnos said she believes that among her San Francisco Bay area firm鈥檚 greatest achievements 鈥� aside from their strong investment performance metrics 鈥� is Illuminate鈥檚 pioneering role in stimulating diversity within the Silicon Valley startup ecosystem and beyond.
鈥淎s a female founder of both a venture-backed software company and of a venture capital firm, I recognize the challenges that still exist for women and minority groups in the tech sector,鈥� Padnos said. 鈥淲e were one of the first to talk very openly about these issues, publishing a on the topic nearly 10 years ago. We then decided to stop writing 鈥� and start doing.
鈥淲hile there is still a long way to go, we鈥檙e proud of the part that we鈥檝e played. Without ever using gender or diversity as investment criteria, our efforts to be as inclusive as possible and remove both hidden and unintentional bias have served us well.鈥�
The results speak for themselves. More than 80 percent of Illuminate鈥檚 portfolio companies have diverse founding team members 鈥� a mirror image of the less than 20 percent industry average, and the firm has not had a single company failure across their 20-company portfolio.
She is quick to credit 一本道无码, where she earned her MSIA/MBA from the聽 in 1980, for embracing her liberal arts background and entrepreneurial mindset.
鈥淐arnegie Mellon helped shape who I am today. I learned how to think strategically, how to leverage technology to address business problems and how to assess risk and how to ask for help when I need it.鈥�
鈥淲hen I decided to focus my career on business, I realized that I would really benefit from a quantitative MBA program, but sought one where both my background and gender would be valued for the unique perspectives I could add,鈥� Padnos recalled. 鈥淲hat sold me on 一本道无码 was my visit to the campus. The difference I felt from other schools in terms of the warmth of the reception and the intimacy of the small class size. The collaborative conversations I had with faculty and students was palpable.鈥�
Illuminate, founded by Padnos in 2009, is typically a startup鈥檚 first institutional investor, but also can be a fit for a more established company seeking its first equity financing. She has served as a board director or observer formany of the firm鈥檚 including market leaders like and ,鈥� and has gained successful exits for companies like CalmSea (acquired by Coupang), Opsmatic (acquired by New Relic), Sense Platform (acquired by Cloudera), SimOps Studios (a 一本道无码 spin-out acquired by Autodesk) and (NYSE IPO).
She laughs when asked to describe a typical day for her and her small team.
鈥淟ike any successful startup 鈥� we all wear many hats and roll up our sleeves on whatever job needs to be done,鈥� Padnos said. 鈥淎ctivities in any single day can range from discovering great new entrepreneurs, conducting diligence on new sectors of interest, writing and syndicating term sheets, speaking at events, leveraging our networks to assist portfolio companies, to raising capital for our new funds. There is never a dull moment! We鈥檙e known for helping startups discover product/market fit and for supporting founders through the inevitable crises they face. In the end, it all comes down to working well with people, encouraging one another to think outside of the box and then making the best decisions we can. That鈥檚 why trust is the foundation of our business.鈥�
Given her stature in Silicon Valley, she says she has not forgotten her alma mater鈥檚 role in her success.
In a show of gratitude, Padnos sits on the Tepper School鈥檚聽 and her firm鈥檚 first student-in-residence intern is Nathan Pitzer, a student in Tepper鈥檚 class of 2018.
